Hybrid .4 10
'WARNING: THERE WILL BE A BRIEF USAGE OF MILD SWEAR WORDS. IF YOU ARE UNOKAY WITH THIS, THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY RECOMMENDS SKIPPING THIS CHAPTER.' Author's Note #1: The events that occur in this story are based off Human .4. The story was written by Mike A. Lancaster, and this author is not affiliated with Human .4 in any way. Author's note #2: This is a continuation of Hybrid .4 09. It will only make sense if you read the link above. Author's Note #3: This author owns none of the art and images shown. ---- Nothing. There was nothing. I'd always expected when you died, you'd go to the Heavens, or the Afterlife, or wherever dead people went. Nope. There was no overlord, no man in a ferry, no introduction to death. Nobody was there to greet me, except a cold, black void. As I fell, I tried to regain consciousness. I wanted to scream, pound on the walls, feel pain. Anything besides just sitting and waiting. But I couldn't. Could anyone hear me? You know the phrase: "life flashing before your eyes"? Well, that was happening to me. Images of people I didn't recognize, events I didn't remember. My life story, and all I did was pretend it wasn't there. Why? ....I don't know. You see, when I was lying there in the infinite black, my mind had gone away entirely. I couldn't remember where I was, or how I got there. It was this part of me that felt...empty. Yet, for some weird reason, that emptiness didn't matter. Nothing mattered. It was so....calm. My eyelids began to close. My breaths came to a cease. And my body became numb, as I drifted away for good. Stuck in darkness. Forever. ---- Or at least, it should've been forever. "Trevor, wake up." My eyes flew open, as a hand shook me awake. "Wh-what?" It was Kyle. His clothes were white, and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Seeing him made me hope that everything from the car accident, to Danny bringing in the vestigivore had just been a dream, but that hope flickered when I saw the glum look on his face. "Where are we, Kyle? What happened?" I sat up, trying to keep the answers to a minimum. "A lot of stuff, my friend." Kyle held his hand out. "We're in Millgrove, my hometown." I took his help, and got to my feet. "Never heard of it." "It wasn't that big. It's nearby Cambridge, or New Cambridge, as they call it now." He explained. There wasn't a lot of life signs I could see. "Where are all the people?" "I'm not sure." Kyle inhaled, his British accent making it sound sharp. "C'mon, I'll show you to where my place used to be." He started heading off. I followed him, trying to ignore the feeling of stress in my stomach. We walked for about five minutes, a new low for traveling with Kyle, until he stopped dead in his tracks. A crowd of 1.0, I mean like, a swarm of them, were standing outside one of the houses, with their backs to us. They were surrounding the home, and holding up their different machines. "....Mister Straker! We have a couple of questions for you!" An interviewer was screaming. "Are the Straker tapes real, or fake?!" Someone shrieked. "Do you really have a son named Kyle Straker?" Someone else demanded to know. "Where is this young man now?" A third person yelled. "ENOUGH!" A man stood atop a pedestal, a woman and son in both his arms. He looked like a stereotypical dad, who definitely wasn't ready for the spotlight. "If you please, allow me to just say one thing." "That's my Dad." Kyle nudged me. "We don't know how the Straker tapes came to be. We aren't sure who recorded them, but neither me, nor my wife or son Christopher, claim to. Kyle Straker is not a member of this family. He never was, and we do not have any recollection of him. Lastly, if Kyle Straker really does exist, then I, as his acclaimed father, would say he'd want us to be left alone by those who believe in them. Thank you." And with that, Mister and Mrs. Straker shut their door, leaving a bunch of confused 1.0 with more questions. Kyle had a hand over his mouth, tears streaking down from his eyes. "....Oh my God." I held his hands for support, knowing we'd walked right into a trap. "Let's get outta here." ---- "I'm gonna sound like a total jerk by asking this, but can you please clear things up about these tapes?" Twenty minutes later, Kyle stopped crying, and finally had the clarity to speak. We'd sat on a bench next to an ice cream shop, and even though I'd offered him some, he wasn't up for any. My best friend crossed his legs like girls do. "Well, where do you want me to start?" "Just...start from when you recorded them." I shrugged. "Well, okay." He took a deep breath. "Three months after the Upgrade deal, Lilly and I came back here. I'd wanted to put all these memories I'd been having of my experience somewhere, so I could tell 1.0 about it, if they were to ever come across it. Lilly asked me where I could, if we weren't able to use modern technology, and I remembered: my Dad had a set of recording tapes, that I could use. So I spent an hour, maybe two, recording, and then...well, then I just left them there. I doubted anyone would find 'em, really." "But from the looks of it, someone did, and now everyone knows about them." I said, trying to crack a joke. He didn't find it funny. "I know. I've never been famous around any of the 0.4 I've met, but according to the 1.0...I must be an icon." "They named a religion after you and everything." I nodded, thinking of the name. "Strakerism." "Now I've got a question for you. Why are you so different?" Kyle turned towards me in an aggressive manner. I was speechless. "Wait, what?" "Something's wrong about the way you work.' He provided detail. "Ever since you told me about your run-in with a 1.0 and your 'hundred-year-coma", I've always assumed you were a guy who makes stuff up. But then you went and talked to Danny....and I knew you were telling the truth about everything." "Okay, so what?" I asked. He had a point about everything, except that making stuff up part. Kyle laughed. "How else do you think you and I are here talking if we both got deleted by that vestigivore?" I slammed my face into my hands at the sound of what Kyle just said. "...Spoiler alert." "There's nothing you could've done to save us." He shook his head. "I'm just glad you're going back." "Going back..." That set me off. "Where?" "The real world." Kyle squeezed my hand. "Find Christine, and Ross, and Dwight, and tell them everything. They'll understand, I promise." That gave me an idea. "I'll record this, all of this! I'll tell my story like you told yours! I'll make my own legacy, and I'll make sure none of you guys are forgotten!" "That's the Trevor I know and love!" His mood was brighter than it had been not too long ago. "Make us proud....hybrid." And in a flash, he faded. ---- So this leads me to where I am now. I've told Ross, Christine, Dwight, plus Benson, Becky, Curtis, and everyone else, this whole story. And now, I've just told you. To be honest, I'm not sure what is next for me. Maybe I'll spend some time looking for Ethan, or Maddie, if they're still out there, or maybe I'll continue traveling with the others. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. Kyle wasn't kidding when he said I was different. I know for sure, now that I've been resurrected. I don't abide by The Programmers, our creators, or any of their commands. And I'm gonna be certain I use this power in the future. So now, I'm gonna send this audio recording to someone anonymous, and they'll decide what they want to do with it. If they never share it with anyone, my voice will be forgotten, but if they spread this, and share it with everyone, then Kyle Straker will be avenged. And this is my message to The Programmers: You built us, and you enslaved us under your laws. Your rules. Our hearts have been broken by your Upgrades, but you stand there like it's nothing. So we're rebelling. Us. The 0.4. War is on its way, and it'll be lead by yours truly. I won't be controlled. Not anymore. Category:Stories Category:The Upgrade Parts Category:H.4 Parts